Sarah Palin's daughter IS pregnant, actually

[Keystone Phil]

I still want to know if anyone feels that this ought to be relevant in the campaign.

No.

But whether it ought to be is irrelevant to whether or not it will be.

I totally agree.

[Ronnie]

Just what we needed.  

[Keystone Phil]

I have yet to hear it even mentioned because of the storm. It's either talk about the hurricane or preparations for the convention.

[Meeker]

I'm curious what the supermarket tabloids are going to do.

[WalterMitty]

I still want to know if anyone feels that this ought to be relevant in the campaign.

the 'open minded' liberals will think this a huge issue.

they will be riding their moral high horse.

those disgusting people are more self righteous than any religious person ive ever met.

And remember these make up most Obama supporters and you'll be lumping yourself with them unless you vote for McCain.

the disgusting way the obama campaign and supporters have treated palin and her child is pushing me to vote mccain.

why does obama hate women so much?  hell women raised him...after his daddy fled to impregnate more women on different continents.

[Joe Biden 2020]

WARNING... THORNY ISSUE AHEAD... WARNING... THORNY ISSUE AHEAD...

This is a VERY tricky issue for the Democrats.  On one hand, they could, hypocritically, bash Palin for not "controlling" her daughter better.  They would have one finger pointed back at her, but with every finger pointed, three point back at you.  On the other hand, they could (and should), let this be a non-factor and realize that her and her daughter are actually human even though Palin is a strong Christian lady.  They need to realize that even fundie Christians are prone to failure, as well.

If I were the Obama campaign and the DNC, I would let this issue go, because a certain family's values is one area you don't want to mess with, even if that family would be the #2 family in the nation.  Also, LEAVE THE KIDS ALONE.

My only question is, and its none of my business, but who the heck did she get pregnant with?  Nobody lives in Alaska.

[minionofmidas]

In terms of political impact, I suspect there might be a bit of negative movement over the next day or two as Republicans who were concerned about Palin drop off the radar screen for a while (depression).

But as for more than that, I doubt it.  The media in general won't touch the issue.  The lefty blogs will, it should be amusing to hear their moralistic preachings.

How much traction will it get on the Christian Right?
That's the only place it might conceivably matter.

In my book, it just adds to the story of the Palins as, for lack of a better word, socially conservative White Trash.
Which to me is lightyears better than socially conservative upper middle class, but I don't really need to tell anybody that, do I?

Obviously, it's not an issue official Democrats want to raise.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

I still want to know if anyone feels that this ought to be relevant in the campaign.

the 'open minded' liberals will think this a huge issue.

they will be riding their moral high horse.

those disgusting people are more self righteous than any religious person ive ever met.

And remember these make up most Obama supporters and you'll be lumping yourself with them unless you vote for McCain.

the disgusting way the obama campaign and supporters have treated palin and her child is pushing me to vote mccain.

[Torie]

Why are socially conservative "white trash" types better than socially conservative upper middle class white types Lewis?  Please help me with some of this. In any event, you don't know enough facts to make any such conclusion about the "culture" of the Palin household - obviously.

[Sam Spade]

In terms of political impact, I suspect there might be a bit of negative movement over the next day or two as Republicans who were concerned about Palin drop off the radar screen for a while (depression).

But as for more than that, I doubt it.  The media in general won't touch the issue.  The lefty blogs will, it should be amusing to hear their moralistic preachings.

How much traction will it get on the Christian Right?
That's the only place it might conceivably matter.

Probably not much, I suspect, if at all.  At least if I know the fundies as well (or socon Catholics) as I think I do.    That's the reason why I said momentary depression - and it probably isn't among those types.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Of course.

[War on Want]

I don't really care, good for the daughter by keeping the kid and getting married, it really isn't our business. I think some liberals/hacks go against their own morals when they get too involved with stories like this.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Why are socially conservative "white trash" types better than socially conservative upper middle class white types Lewis?  Please help me with some of this. In any event, you don't know enough facts to make any such conclusion about the "culture" of the Palin household - obviously.

"White trash" doesn't have a positive connotation. Think of the bashing of Appalachia during the primary.

[agcatter]

I would think this would have been a huge issue had Palin withheld the news from McCain.  It would have reflected badly on her as dishonest and putting her own ambitions ahead of the campaign.

That not being the case, I can't imagine it being an issue unless someone on the other side attempts to make it an issue.  If that happens, it would boomerang badly.

There is potential here for the MSM to bury themselves a little deeper and I'm not sure they can help themselves.

[Franzl]

I still want to know if anyone feels that this ought to be relevant in the campaign.

the 'open minded' liberals will think this a huge issue.

they will be riding their moral high horse.

those disgusting people are more self righteous than any religious person ive ever met.

And remember these make up most Obama supporters and you'll be lumping yourself with them unless you vote for McCain.

the disgusting way the obama campaign and supporters have treated palin and her child is pushing me to vote mccain.

why does obama hate women so much?  hell women raised him...after his daddy fled to impregnate more women on different continents.

and with all due respect, that's a pretty stupid reason to vote for or against someone.

[Sam Spade]

I would think this would have been a huge issue had Palin withheld the news from McCain.  It would have reflected badly on her as dishonest and putting her own ambitions ahead of the campaign.

That not being the case, I can't imagine it being an issue unless someone on the other side attempts to make it an issue.  If that happens, it would boomerang badly.

There is potential here for the MSM to bury themselves a little deeper and I'm not sure they can help themselves.

The MSM is not stupid enough to cover this heavily.  Except for Olbermann, probably.

[Meeker]

I would think this would have been a huge issue had Palin withheld the news from McCain.  It would have reflected badly on her as dishonest and putting her own ambitions ahead of the campaign.

That not being the case, I can't imagine it being an issue unless someone on the other side attempts to make it an issue.  If that happens, it would boomerang badly.

There is potential here for the MSM to bury themselves a little deeper and I'm not sure they can help themselves.

The MSM is not stupid enough to cover this heavily.  Except for Olbermann, probably.

Though they'll all do a round of stories about how this shouldn't be a story.

[Person Man]

Why are socially conservative "white trash" types better than socially conservative upper middle class white types Lewis?  Please help me with some of this. In any event, you don't know enough facts to make any such conclusion about the "culture" of the Palin household - obviously.

"White trash" doesn't have a positive connotation. Think of the bashing of Appalachia during the primary.

Yes. This family seems like total white trash. I just watched the movie "Idiocracy" last night....and I am fu cking scared to death over this.

[agcatter]

I don't know Sam.  I predict their line will be - what does it say about her as a mother that she was willing to join the ticket knowing it would bring her daughter's personal prediciment into public view?  They won't exactly phrase it that way but you know what I'm getting at.

You disagree?

[Brittain33]

I know I am not representative of anyone, but this is a total non story to me. Yawn.

I totally agree. I don't care, and I wish her the best in the future.

We also can all agree that no Democrat can criticize anyone in the Palin family for this without justifiably looking bad. I think people are missing that Democrats don't need to raise the issue for it to become one.

I am going to state a view I don't personally hold, so before responding, consider that. The simple fact is, a lot of people with conservative social values believe that women who have full-time careers and families do a disservice to the latter because they can't be in both places at once. They're right, there are trade-offs.

Even without Michael Moore, Keith Olbermann, or any other Democratic attack figure bringing it up, I find it hard to believe that there aren't going to be some conservative voters who will connect Palin's active political career with her daughter's transgression. They may empathize with her, they may agree with her politics, but they may see an issue in a mother of five pursuing a full-time career when her daughter appears to have need of more supervision and strictness.

I repeat: I don't share this view. I don't think parents can have total control over their children's lives and I don't think abstinence-only education is the way to go. The problem is, both the Palins and a very large chunk of the Republican party do feel that way, and Bristol Palin's personal experiences are a sign of failure.

It is manifestly unfair to a young girl to have her life held up for public view like this. That is why the real sin here is in the campaign that didn't do its homework before selecting Palin.

Have at me. 

[agcatter]

Hold on a second.  This family seems like white trash?

What???

[Torie]

I don't know Sam.  I predict their line will be - what does it say about her as a mother that she was willing to join the ticket knowing it would bring her daughter's personal prediciment into public view?  They won't exactly phrase it that way but you know what I'm getting at.

You disagree?

Well I disagree, to butt in. One cannot let one's life be dictated by the acts of one's children. In this day and age, it is not as if the daughter will become a social leper. It is a great big zero I think.

Brittain, I just don't think a 17 year old getting knocked up is that big a deal. Granted if Palin opposes sex education, that was a failing. Maybe the daughter's birth control failed. Who knows.

[Sam Spade]

I don't know Sam.  I predict their line will be - what does it say about her as a mother that she was willing to join the ticket knowing it would bring her daughter's personal prediciment into public view?  They won't exactly phrase it that way but you know what I'm getting at.

You disagree?

They will not go down that road.  Doesn't mean the Internet won't, however.

[Brittain33]

It makes no sense that Palin would drop out. McCain knew about this before he picked her and was apparently OK with it.

Has this been established? If so, McCain looks even more reckless than I thought.

I am sorry if that comes across as hackish, but this is a potential problem for Palin even if the Democrats never bring it up. Conservative voters are not so ill-informed or willfully ignorant that they will choose not to hear this story and respond to it. Some of them are strong enough believers in the Republican party to separate the family from the policy and vote McCain anyway. However, those were not the people we needed to be concerned about.

The issue for people will be whether they feel Palin can continue to be a role model of a mother and do right by her family while also serving as VP. If you think it isn't an issue, then we'll see.

[riceowl]

just now saw it on cnn for the first time

[Brittain33]

I still want to know if anyone feels that this ought to be relevant in the campaign.

I took a stab at why I think it will be, even though the Democrats can not and should not make it a campaign issue. As a social conservative, I'm curious to hear your take on my read on the issue.

For the record, if I am right, I see the outcome to be a swap of someone else for Palin rather than long-term damage to the ticket, with Palin using this news as an excuse for her to spend more time with her family. For once, that excuse would be accurate.